Microelectronic device assemblies having a shielded input and methods for manufacturing and operating such microelectronic device assemblies

ABSTRACT

Microelectronic devices having a protected input and methods for manufacturing such microelectronic devices. A microelectronic device has a microelectronic die and a support structure for coupling the die to voltage and signal sources. The microelectronic die can have integrated circuitry and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuitry. The bond-pads, for example, can include a reference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad adjacent to the Vref bond-pad. The signal bond-pad can be for a clock signal, a data signal, a strobe signal, an address signal, or another type signal for operating the integrated circuitry. The support structure can be a lead frame or a interposing substrate having a plurality of conductive members coupled to the bond-pads of the die. The conductive members can accordingly be metal pins in the case of lead frames or traces and solder ball-pads in the case of interposing substrates. Each conductive member can have a first end with a bond-site proximate to a corresponding bond-pad of the die, a second end defining an external connector, and an elongated conductive section connecting the bond-site to the external connector. The conductive members are generally arranged so that at least some of the bond-sites are arranged in a first row in which the bond-sites and a portion of the elongated sections are spaced apart from one other by a first gap width. The support structure can more specifically include a first conductive member having a first bond-site coupled to the Vref bond-pad by a first wire-bond line and a second conductive member having a second bond-site coupled to the signal bond-pad by a second wire-bond line. The first bond-site of the first conductive member can be spaced apart from the second bond-site of the second conductive member by a second gap width greater than the first gap width.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to microelectronic device assemblies, andmore specifically to inhibiting or preventing fluctuations in areference voltage applied to a microelectronic die.

BACKGROUND

Microelectronic devices are generally complex, delicate components usedin larger products. A typical microelectronic device includes amicroelectronic die, a support structure attached to the die, and aprotective casing encapsulating the die. The microelectronic die can bea semiconductor device (e.g., a microprocessor or a memory device), afield emission display, or another type of device. The support structureis generally a lead frame having a plurality of leads, or an interposingsubstrate having electrically conductive traces and solder ball pads.The protective casing is generally a hard plastic, such as athermosetting material, that is molded around the die. The protectivecasing encapsulates the die and a portion of the support structure toprotect the die from environmental hazards and physical shocks.

The microelectronic dies include integrated circuitry and a plurality ofbond-pads that are coupled to the integrated circuitry. In a typicalapplication for a DRAM memory device, a die will have a referencevoltage (Vref) bond-pad, a plurality of supply voltage (V_(dd)) andground voltage (V_(ss)) bond-pads, a plurality of signal bond-pads(e.g., clock lines, address lines, and data lines), a column addressstrobe ({overscore (CAS)}) bond-pad, and a row address strobe({overscore (RAS)}) pad. The bond-pads are often arranged in a finepitch array on one side of the die, and each bond-pad is coupled to theappropriate voltage source or signal source. For example, the Vrefbond-pad is coupled to a reference voltage source, the Vss and Vddbond-pads are coupled to appropriate electrical potentials, and thesignal bond-pads are coupled to the correct signal sources. The supportstructures are accordingly configured so that the leads or traces couplethe bond-pads on the die to the corresponding voltage and signalsources.

The current trend in microchip fabrication is to manufacture smaller andfaster microelectronic dies for computers, cell phones and many otherproducts. As the dies become smaller, the bond-pads on the dies are alsosmaller and spaced closer together. Additionally, as the microelectronicdies become faster and have a larger capacity, the components of theintegrated circuitry are much smaller and spaced closer together so thatmore components can be fabricated in the dies. Many dies accordinglyhave a limited amount of real estate for the integrated circuitry andthe bond-pads. As a result, the Vref bond-pad may be adjacent to asignal bond-pad for a data or clock signal such that the wire-bond linesbetween these bond-pads are immediately adjacent to one another.

One drawback of locating the Vref bond-pad adjacent to a signal bond-padis that the reference voltage may fluctuate because of coupled noise.This drawback is particularly problematic in high-frequency dies withclock speeds of over 100 MHz and signal frequencies of over 200 MHz.Such fluctuations in the reference voltage at the Vref bond-pad cancause the microelectronic die to malfunction because it is critical tomaintain a constant reference voltage. Therefore, it would be desirableto prevent fluctuations in the reference voltage at the Vref bond-pad inmicroelectronic dies that have the Vref bond-pad in the proximity of asignal bond-pad.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed toward microelectronic devices andmethods for manufacturing such microelectronic devices. One aspect ofthe invention is directed toward a microelectronic device having amicroelectronic die and a support structure for coupling the die tovoltage sources and signal sources. The microelectronic die can haveintegrated circuitry and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to theintegrated circuitry. The bond-pads, for example, can include areference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad adjacent to theVref bond-pad. The signal bond-pad can be for a clock signal, a datasignal, a strobe signal, an address signal, or another type signal foroperating the integrated circuitry.

The support structure can be a lead frame or an interposing substratehaving a plurality of conductive members coupled to the bond-pads of thedie. The conductive members can accordingly be metal leads in the caseof lead frames or traces connected to solder ball-pads in the case ofinterposing substrates. Each conductive member can have a first end witha bond-site proximate to a corresponding bond-pad of the die, a secondend defining an external connector, and an elongated conductive sectionconnecting the bond-site to the external connector. The conductivemembers are generally arranged so that at least some of the bond-sitesare arranged in a first row in which the bond-sites and a portion of theelongated sections are spaced apart from one other by a first gap width.The support structure can more specifically include a first conductivemember having a first bond-site coupled to the Vref bond-pad by a firstwire-bond line and a second conductive member having a second bond-sitecoupled to the signal bond-pad by a second wire-bond line. The firstbond-site of the first conductive member can be spaced apart from thesecond bond-site of the second conductive member by a second gap widthgreater than the first gap width.

In one particular embodiment of a microelectronic device, the supportstructure includes a first conductive member, a second conductivemember, and a third conductive member. The first conductive member has afirst elongated section and a first bond-site coupled to the Vrefbond-pad by a first wire-bond line, and the second conductive member hasa second elongated section and a second bond-site coupled to the signalbond-pad by a second wire-bond line. The third conductive member has ashielding section adjacent to and between the first and secondbond-sites of the first and second conductive members. The shieldingsection of the third conductive member can also extend between a portionof the first and second elongated sections of the first and secondconductive members. The third conductive member of this particularembodiment can be coupled to an electrical potential, such as the groundvoltage, to establish an electrical shield that inhibits or evenprevents electrical interference between a high-frequency input/outputsignal applied to the second conductive member and the reference voltageapplied to the first conductive member.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly having adie coupled to a lead frame in accordance with related art developed byMicron Technology, Inc.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are top plan views of microelectronic device assemblieshaving a die and a lead frame in accordance with embodiments of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly having adie and a lead frame in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly having adie and an interposing substrate for a ball-grid array in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following disclosure is directed towards microelectronic devices,and to methods and apparatuses for operatively coupling amicroelectronic die to voltage and signal sources. Several embodimentsof the present invention are described with respect to memory devices,but the methods and apparatuses are also applicable to other types ofmicroelectronic devices. One skilled in the art will accordinglyunderstand that the present invention may have additional embodiments,or that the invention may be practiced without several of the detailsdescribed below.

A. Related Art Microelectronic Device Assembly

The embodiments of the microelectronic devices in accordance with theinvention are best understood in light of an initial design for amicroelectronic device that Micron Technology, Inc. developed, but didnot put produce commercially or use in public. As such, the initialdesign is described with respect to FIG. 1, and embodiments ofmicroelectronic devices in accordance with the invention are describedin FIGS. 2A-4.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly 10 havinga microelectronic die 20 coupled to a support member 40. Themicroelectronic die 20 shown in FIG. 1 is a 128M Double Data Rate (DDR)DRAM memory device. Suitable DDR devices and other types of memorydevices are manufactured by Micron Technology, Inc. The microelectronicdie 20 can also be a microprocessor or another type of microelectronicdevice. The support structure 40 electrically couples themicroelectronic die to input/output signals, clock signals, strobesignals, a reference voltage source, a supply, voltage source, a groundvoltage source, and other types of voltage and signal sources. In acompleted device, the die 20 and a portion of the support structure 40are encapsulated in a protective cover (not shown), and the supportstructure 40 is trimmed to electrically isolate the leads.

The die 20 shown in FIG. 1 includes integrated circuitry 22 and aplurality of bond-pads 23 coupled to the integrated circuitry 22. Thebond-pads 23 can be arranged in a first center array 24 and a secondcenter array 26. The bond-pads 23 correspond to the particular voltageand signal sources that drive the integrated circuitry 22 of themicroelectronic die 20. In this embodiment, the bond-pads 23 include areference voltage (Vref) bond-pad 23 a, a signal bond-pad 23 b proximateto the Vref bond-pad 23 a, a ground voltage (V_(ss)) bond-pad 23 c, andseveral additional bond-pads for operating other functions of the die20. The arrangement of the bond-pads 23 can be determined by the designof the integrated circuitry 22 in the die 20 and/or the pin-sites forproviding the voltage and signal sources to the die 20. As a result, itmay be necessary to locate the Vref bond-pad 23 a next, or at leastnear, to the signal bond-pad 23 b to accommodate the particularstructure of the integrated circuitry 22 and the configuration of thepin-sites. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the signal bond-pad 23 bis a data I/O bond-pad for signals that operate at a high frequency.Because of the arrangement of the bond-pads 23, the Vref bond-pad 23 aand the signal bond-pad 23 b are coupled to respective adjacent leads ofthe support structure 40.

The support structure 40 shown in FIG. 1 is a lead frame having aplurality of conductive members 42. Each conductive member 42 can be alead having a first end with a bond-site 44, an elongated conductivesection 46, and a second end with an external connector 48. Theelongated conductive section 46 extends from the bond-site 44 to theexternal connector 48. The conductive members 42 are arranged so that atleast a portion of the bond-sites 44 are arranged in a first row R₁, andthe conductive members 42 are more preferably arranged so that thebond-sites 44 are arranged in the first row R₁ along one side of the die20 and a second row R₂ along another side of the die 20. The bond-sites44 in the first and second rows R₁ and R₂ are positioned proximate tothe interior bond-pads 23 in the first and second center arrays 24 and26. The bond-sites 44 in the first and second rows R₁ and R₂ aregenerally spaced apart from adjacent bond-sites 44 by a first gap widthG₁. The conductive members 42 are also configured so that the externalconnectors 48 are proximate to a pin-site for a voltage, address,clocking, strobing, and data input/output function corresponding to thebond-pads 23 on the die 20. For example, the conductive member 42 havinga bond-site 44 adjacent to the Vref bond-pad 23 a on the die 20 has anelongated section 46 configured to position the external connector 48 ata pin-site “49 VREF/SV” that is to be coupled to a reference voltagesource.

The support structure 40 can include a first conductive member 42 a forconnecting the Vref bond-pad 23 a to the reference voltage source, asecond conductive member 42 b for coupling the signal bond-pad 23 b to adata signal source, and a third conductive member 42 c for coupling theground voltage bond-pad 23 c to the ground voltage source. Because theVref bond-pad 23 a is proximate to the signal bond-pad 23 b, thebond-sites 44 and a significant length of the elongated sections 46 ofthe first and second conductive members 42 a and 42 b are immediatelyadjacent to one another. When the die 20 is very small and operates at ahigh frequency, the spacing between the bond-sites 44 and the elongatedsections 46 of the conductive members 42 is also very small.

The microelectronic device assembly 10 also includes a plurality ofwire-bond lines 50 that couple the bond-pads 23 to correspondingbond-sites 44 of the conductive members 42. For example, the Vrefbond-pad 23 a is coupled to the bond-site 44 of the first conductivemember 42 a by a first wire-bond line 50 a, and the signal bond-pad 23 bis coupled to the bond-site 44 of the second conductive member 42 b by asecond wire-bond line 50 b. The first and second wire-bond lines 50 aand 50 b are adjacent to one another without an interposing wire-bondline positioned between them. The first and second bond lines 50 a and50 b are configured in this arrangement because the Vref bond-pad 23 ais adjacent to the signal bond-pad 23 b along a common side of the firstcenter array 24 on the die 20. The remaining bond-pads 23 are similarlycoupled to corresponding bond-sites 44 of selected conductive members 42to accurately couple the bond-pads 23 to pin-sites for the appropriatevoltage and signal sources.

One concern of the microelectronic device assembly 10 shown in FIG. 1 isthat the reference voltage provided to the Vref bond-pad 23 a mayfluctuate. The reference voltage fluctuates because of capacitive and/orinductive coupling effects, and this error in the reference voltagelevel can create critical skews in signals at higher operatingfrequencies (i.e., 266 Mbps). It will be appreciated that suchfluctuations in the reference voltage can impair the efficacy of themicroelectronic device assembly 10.

B. Microelectronic Devices with a Protected Conductive Member

FIG. 2A is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly 100having a support structure 140 in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention coupled to the microelectronic die 20. The microelectronic die20 can be substantially the same as the die 20 shown in FIG. 1, and someof the components of the support structure 140 can be similar to thecomponents of the support structure 40 shown in FIG. 1. As such, likereference numbers refer to like parts in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The embodiment of the support structure 140 shown in FIG. 2A is a leadframe having a plurality of conductive members 142. Each conductivemember 142 can include a bond-site 144, an elongated section 146, and anexternal connector 148. The configuration of the conductive members 142in the support structure 140 is different than that in the supportstructure 40 shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, the pin-site “43 NC” inFIG. 1 for a vacant non-contact external connector 48 on the supportstructure 40 has a conductive member 42, but the pin-site “43 NC” on thesupport structure 140 in FIG. 2 does not have a conductive member 142.The bond-sites 144 of the conductive members 142 for the referencevoltage at pin-site “49 VREF/SV,” the ground voltage at pin-site “48VSS,” the data input signal at pin-site “47 DM,” the clock signal atpin-site “46 CK,” the CAS clock signal at pin-site “45 CK,” and the RASclock signal at pin-site “44 CKE” have all been shifted down along thefirst row R₁. As a result, the bond-sites 144 of the conductive members142 arranged along the first row R₁ can be spaced apart from one anotherby the first gap width G₁, but the first bond-site 144 of the firstconductive member 142 a is spaced apart from the second bond-site 144 ofthe second conductive member 142 b by a second gap width G₂ that isgreater than the first gap width G₁. The second gap width G₂ can bedouble the first gap width G₁, but the second gap width G₂ can be anysuitable gap width that shields the first conductive member 142 a fromthe capacitive coupling and/or inductive affects caused by applying ahigh-frequency signal to the second conductive member 142 b.

The first conductive member 142 a is coupled to the Vref bond-pad 23 aby a first wire-bond line 150 a, and the second conductive member 142 bis coupled to the signal bond-pad 23 b by a second wire-bond line 150 b.The first and second wire-bond lines 150 a and 150 b are immediatelyadjacent to each other such that another wire-bond line is not betweenthe first and second wire-bond lines 150 a and 150 b. The wire-bondlines 150 a and 150 b can be constructed using equipment and techniquesknown in the microchip fabrication arts.

The support structure 140 shown in FIG. 2A can also include a shield 160in the large second gap width G₂ between the first conductive member 142a and the second conductive member 142 b. The shield 160 can be coupledto a supply voltage or a ground voltage, or the shield 160 can be anon-contact member that is not connected to a voltage source or a signalsource. When the shield 160 is coupled to a ground voltage, the secondgap width G₂ can generally be reduced to maximize the density of leadson the support structure 140. In an alternative embodiment, the secondgap width G₂ between the first and second conductive members 142 a and142 b can be completely vacant without the shield 160 (shown in FIG.2B).

Referring again to FIG. 2A, the support structure 140 can also include aperimeter frame 145 connected to the conductive members 142 proximate tothe external connectors 148. After the die 20 and a portion of theconductive members 142 are encapsulated with a protective cover (notshown), the conductive members 142 are trimmed along a trim line 147 toremove the perimeter frame 145 from the conductive members 142. Theexternal connectors 148 project from the protective cover after trimmingthe conductive members 142 to provide external electrical connectionsfor the microelectronic device 100.

The embodiments of the support structure 140 shown in FIGS. 2A and 2Binhibit or prevent fluctuations in the reference voltage applied to thefirst conductive member 142 a. By separating the first conductive member142 a from the second conductive member 142 b by a distance that isgreater than the first gap width G₁, the capacitive coupling orinductive influences generated by applying high-frequency signals to thesecond conductive member 142 b are reduced at the first conductivemember 142 a. Moreover, when a voltage potential is applied to theshield 160, it actively protects the reference voltage on the firstconductive member 142 a from the signals applied to the secondconductive member 142 b. As such, the support member 140 protects thereference voltage applied to the first conductive member 142 a even whenVref bond-pad 23 a and the signal bond-pad 23 b are arranged on the die20 such that the first and second wire-bond lines 150 a and 150 b areadjacent to one another without an interposing wire-bond line betweenthem.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device assembly 200having a support structure 240 in accordance with another embodiment ofthe invention coupled to the microelectronic die 20. The microelectronicdie 20 can be the same as described above with reference to FIG. 1, andthe support structure 240 can be similar to the support structures 40and 140 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As such, like reference numberscorrespond to like parts in FIGS. 1-3.

The embodiment of the support member 240 shown in FIG. 3 is another leadframe having a plurality of conductive members 242. Each conductivemember 242 can have a bond-site 244, an elongated conductive section246, and a connector 248. The support structure 240 can include a firstconductive member 242 a for the Vref bond-pad 23 a and a secondconductive member 242 b for the signal bond-pad 23 b. The firstconductive member 242 a is spaced apart from the second conductivemember 242 b by the second gap width G₂. The support member 240 can alsoinclude a third conductive member 242 c having a shielding section 260between the bond-sites 244 and at least a portion of the elongatedsections 246 of the first and second conductive members 242 a and 242 b.The third conductive member 242 c can be coupled to a supply or groundvoltage to provide an electrical potential adjacent to and between thefirst conductive member 242 a and the second conductive member 242 b.When the third conductive member 242 c is coupled to a ground voltage,the shielding section 260 electrically shields the reference voltageapplied to the first conductive member 242 a from the high-frequencysignals applied to the second conductive member 242 b. The supportmember 240, therefore, facilitates providing a constant referencevoltage to the Vref bond-pad 23 a even when the Vref bond-pad 23 a isproximate to the signal bond-pad 23 b such that the first and secondwire-bond lines 50 a and 50 b are adjacent to one another without aninterposing wire-bond line between them.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a microelectronic device 300 having asupport structure 340 for a ball-grid array in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention coupled to the microelectronic die 20. Themicroelectronic die 20 can be substantially the same as the die 20 shownin FIGS. 1-3, and thus like reference numbers refer to like parts inFIGS. 1-4.

The embodiment of the support structure 340 shown in FIG. 4 has aninterposing substrate 341 and a plurality of conductive members 342 fora ball-grid array used in flip-chip, board-on-chip, chip-on-board, orother techniques for coupling the die 20 to the voltage sources andsignal sources. The interposing substrate 341 can be a printed circuitsheet, such as a printed circuit board, tape, or ribbon, that has aplurality of electrical traces and pads “printed” on the sheet. Theinterposing substrate 341 can have several electrically isolated planes,such as a source voltage plane, a ground voltage plane, and otherplanes. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the interposing substrate 341also has an opening 343 to provide access to the bond-pads 23 on the die20. Each conductive member 342 can include a bond-site 344, a conductiveelongated section 346 coupled to the bond-site 344, and an externalconnector 348 coupled to the elongated section 346. The bond-sites 344can be contact pads along the sides of the opening 343, and the externalconnectors 348 can be ball-pads of a ball-grid array for receivingsolder balls. The conductive elongated sections 346 can accordingly beconductive traces that extend from the bond-sites 344 to the externalconnectors 348.

The conductive members 342 can be arranged in any of the arrangementsfor the conductive members 142 shown in FIGS. 2A-2B. In the embodimentshown in FIG. 4, the conductive members 342 have a shield 360 between afirst conductive member 342 a coupled to the Vref bond-pad 23 a and asecond conductive member 342 b coupled to the signal bond-pad 23 b. Theshield 360 can be coupled to the ground voltage plane of the interposingsubstrate 341 to provide an electrical shield between the first andsecond conductive members 342 a and 342 b. As a result, the referencevoltage applied to the first conductive member 342 a is protected fromthe high-frequency signal applied to the second conductive member 342 b.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments ofthe invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration,but that various modifications may be made without deviating from thespirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited except as by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A microelectronic device assembly, comprising: a microelectronic die having an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit, the bond-pads including a reference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad immediately adjacent to the Vref bond-pad; and a support structure having a plurality of conductive members coupled to the die, the conductive members having a first end with a bond-site proximate to a corresponding bond-pad of the die, a second end with an external connector, and an elongated section connecting the bond-site to the external connector, the conductive members being arranged so that at least a portion of the bond-sites are arranged in a first row and spaced apart from one another by a first gap distance, and the conductive members including a first conductive member having a first bond-site coupled to the Vref bond-pad and a second conductive member having a second bond-site coupled to the signal bond-pad, the first bond-site of the first conductive member being spaced apart from the second bond-site of the second conductive member by a second distance greater than the first distance.
 2. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 1 wherein the support structure is a lead frame comprising a perimeter frame section and the plurality of conductive members, wherein the plurality of conductive members are leads attached to the perimeter frame section proximate to the second ends of the conductive members.
 3. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 1 wherein the support structure is an interposing substrate comprising a printed circuit sheet and the plurality of conductive members, the printed circuit sheet having an opening with a first side and a second side, and wherein the bond-sites of the conductive members are contact pads arranged along at least one of the first side or the second side of the opening through the sheet, the external connectors of the conductive members are solder ball-pads, and the elongated sections of the conductive members are conductive traces extending from the bond-sites to the ball-pads.
 4. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 1, further comprising a shield between the first and second conductive members.
 5. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 4 wherein the shield between the first and second conductive members comprises a conductive line coupled to a voltage potential.
 6. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 4 wherein the shield between the first and second lines comprises a dielectric barrier.
 7. A microelectronic device assembly, comprising: a microelectronic die having an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit, the bond-pads including a reference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad proximate to the Vref bond-pad; and a support structure having a plurality of conductive members coupled to the die, the conductive members including a first conductive member having a first elongated section and a first bond-site coupled to the Vref bond-pad by a first wire-bond line, a second conductive member having a second elongated section and a second bond-site coupled to the signal bond-pad by a second wire-bond line immediately adjacent to the first wire-bond line without an interposing wire-bond line from another bond-pad on the microelectronic die being between the first and second wire-bond lines, and a third conductive member having a third elongated section, wherein a portion of the first elongated section proximate to the first bond-site is immediately adjacent to and spaced apart from an adjacent portion of the third elongated section by a first distance, and wherein the portion of the first elongated section proximate to the first bond-site is spaced apart from a portion of the second elongated section proximate to the second bond-site by a second distance that is greater than the first distance.
 8. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 7 wherein the support structure is a lead frame comprising a perimeter frame section and the plurality of conductive members, and wherein the plurality of conductive members are leads attached to the perimeter frame section proximate to the second ends of the conductive members.
 9. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 7 wherein the support structure is an interposing substrate comprising a printed circuit sheet and the plurality of conductive members, the printed circuit sheet having an opening with a first side and a second side, the conductive members further comprising ball-pads coupled to individual elongated sections, and wherein the bond-sites of the conductive members are contact pads arranged along at least one of the first side or the second side of the opening through the sheet, and the elongated sections of the conductive members are conductive traces along the sheet extending from the bond-sites to the ball-pads.
 10. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 7, further comprising a shield between the first and second conductive members.
 11. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 10 wherein the shield between the first and second conductive members comprises the adjacent portion of the third elongated section that is adjacent to the portion of the first elongated section proximate to the first bond-site.
 12. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 10 wherein the shield between the first and second lines comprises a dielectric barrier.
 13. A microelectronic device assembly, comprising: a microelectronic die having an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit, the bond-pads including a reference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad proximate to the Vref bond-pad; a support structure having a plurality of conductive members coupled to the die, the conductive members having a first end with a bond-site proximate to a corresponding bond-pad of the die, a second end defining an external connector, and an elongated section connecting the bond-site to the external connector, the conductive members being arranged so that at least a portion of the bond-sites are arranged in a first row and spaced apart from one another by a first gap width, and the conductive members including a first conductive member having a first bond-site and a second conductive member having a second bond-site, the first bond-site of the first conductive member being spaced apart from the second bond-site of the second conductive member by a second gap width greater than the first gap width; and a plurality of wire-bond lines including a first wire-bond line from the Vref bond-pad to the first bond-site of the first conductive member and a second wire-bond line from the signal bond-pad to the second bond-site of the second conductive member, the first and second wire-bond lines being immediately adjacent to one another without an interposing wire-bond line from another bond-pad on the microelectronic die being between the first and second wire-bond lines.
 14. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 13 wherein the support structure is a lead frame comprising a perimeter frame section and the plurality of conductive members, wherein the plurality of conductive members are leads attached to the perimeter frame section proximate to the second ends of the conductive members.
 15. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 13 wherein the support structure is an interposing substrate comprising a printed circuit sheet and the plurality of conductive members, the printed circuit sheet having an opening with a first side and a second side, and wherein the bond-sites of the conductive members are contact pads arranged along at least one of the first side or the second side of the opening through the sheet, the external connectors of the conductive members are solder ball-pads, and the elongated sections of the conductive members are conductive traces extending from the bond-sites to the ball-pads.
 16. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 13, further comprising a shield between the first and second conductive members.
 17. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 16 wherein the shield between the first and second conductive members comprises a conductive line coupled to a voltage potential.
 18. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 16 wherein the shield between the first and second lines comprises a dielectric barrier.
 19. A microelectronic device assembly, comprising: a microelectronic die having an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads coupled to the integrated circuit, the bond-pads including a reference voltage (Vref) bond-pad and a signal bond-pad proximate to the Vref bond-pad; a support structure having a plurality of conductive members coupled to the die, each conductive member having a first end with a bond-site proximate to a corresponding bond-pad of the die, a second end with an external connector, and an elongated section connecting the bond-site to the external connector, the conductive members being arranged so that at least a portion of the bond-sites are in a first row proximate to one side of the bond-pads on the die, and the conductive members including a first conductive member, a second conductive member, and a third conductive member, the third conductive member coupled to an electrical potential and having a shielding section immediately adjacent to and between at least a portion of the first and second conductive members; and a plurality of wire-bond lines including a first wire-bond line from the Vref bond-pad to the first bond-site of the first conductive member and a second wire-bond line from the signal bond-pad to the second bond-site of the second conductive member.
 20. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 19 wherein the support structure is a lead frame comprising a perimeter frame section and the plurality of conductive members, and wherein the plurality of conductive members are leads attached to the perimeter frame section proximate to the second ends of the conductive members.
 21. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 19 wherein the support structure is an interposing substrate comprising a printed circuit sheet and the plurality of conductive members, the printed circuit sheet having an opening with a first side and a second side, and wherein the bond-sites of the conductive members are contact pads arranged along at least one of the first side or the second side of the opening through the sheet, the external connectors of the conductive members are solder ball-pads, the elongated sections of the conductive members are conductive traces along the sheet extending from the bond-sites to the ball-pads, and the contact pads and traces of the first and second conductive members are spaced apart from one another by at least the second gap width.
 22. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 19, further comprising a shield between the first and second conductive members.
 23. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 22 wherein the shield between the first and second conductive members comprises a conductive line coupled to a voltage potential.
 24. The microelectronic device assembly of claim 22 wherein the shield between the first and second lines comprises a dielectric barrier. 